by T. T. Kove
The back door loomed in front of us. He slammed it open, then shoved me through and up against the alley wall before he slammed it closed again.
“Three days,” he said, voice low, dangerously so, as he turned slowly to face me. “I’ve been waiting three days to hear from you. And nothing.”
“I moved out. I left a note.” I cowered against the wall. If I tried to run for the street, he’d only have more of an excuse to hurt me. “That should’ve been enough.”
He stalked towards me and I reared back as far as I could, but the wall didn’t give. “You can’t just leave a note. You can’t just grab all your stuff when I’m not home and decide you want to move out. That’s our place.”
“It’s your place. It’s your name on the lease.” My name wasn’t anywhere. Not even on the mailbox. For all intents and purposes, no one even knew I lived there if I didn’t personally tell them.
He slammed a palm against the wall right next to my head. I flinched, but there was nowhere to go, so I had to stand my ground. “Weren’t you going to tell me face to face? What? Are you too much a coward to say it out loud? So you leave a note?”
I was a coward, but who wouldn’t be when faced with him? If he didn’t understand why I’d chosen to leave a note instead of facing him…
“Kaz.” Now his other palm slammed against the wall, on the other side of my head. He loomed over me, trapping me there in the alley, against his body. I had nowhere to go, no one to turn to because Wynn was in his office and he had no idea I wasn’t behind the bar any more. “You don’t understand how difficult it is for me—”
“Difficult?” I choked out. “How difficult it is for you? What about me?”
“It’s not about you,” he snapped. “You have no idea what it’s like to be me. What I struggle with.”
“Can’t you struggle on your own instead of dragging me into it?” My bottom lip trembled and I was this close to crying. That I could still stand there and have a conversation with him was a miracle in itself. All I wanted was to curl into a ball and hope he’d be satisfied with one hit or one kick and then leave me to it. “I’m not your punching bag. I never volunteered to be that.”
He gritted his teeth. “If you could just act fucking normal—”
“Normal!” That came out almost like a shriek. It would’ve horrified me if I wasn’t already so damn scared. “I am normal. I’m a human being, I’ve got feelings and wants and needs. Just because I don’t fit into your perfectly macho, ‘straight’ world doesn’t make me abnormal.”
“You’re such a fucking girl,” he snarled. “Just look at you. You’re this close to crying.”
So he could see that, huh? I didn’t think he ever saw anything but himself. “There’s nothing wrong with showing emotions,” I whispered. “Just because I’m a little more emotional than most people doesn’t make it right what you—” I gasped as his palm slapped my cheek.
“Shut up, Kaz. Don’t you dare start crying on me.”
I covered my cheek with my hand, staring off to the side at the ground. “What do you want with me?”
“Move back in.”
“No.” My voice shook, but it held. It held enough for him to hear it, for it to hold some sort of conviction behind it. “I won’t.”
“Kaz…” His voice had a warning tone to it now. “I’m struggling here. You know that. You know my parents won’t like it if I’m gay.”
“That doesn’t make it right, what you’re doing.” My cheek throbbed, but at least it had only been a slap of his palm and not a hit of his fist. “I shouldn’t be afraid of you.”
“Afraid of me?” That seemed to surprise him somehow. “Kaz, we’re a couple, you and I.”
“Not any more,” I whispered, contemplating whether to duck under his arm and make a run for it. But no, he’d catch me and then he likely would use his fist. “I’m done.”
“I’m not done!” He hit the wall several times in anger and I cowered, the tears overflowing. “Don’t fucking cry! You always do that!”
“I’m sorry!” I didn’t mean to, but he was scaring me and I knew what he was capable of and I was all alone… I wanted Wynn. Wynn would help me, if only he knew I needed it. My new phone was in my locker and I had nothing on me that would be of any help.
“I can’t be openly gay, you get that?” He leaned close, face hovering close to mine. “Once I finish my engineering degree, I’m gonna get a good job. I can’t let being gay stand in the way of that. People discriminate against gay people still, you know.”
“Not everyone does,” I mumbled.
“No, maybe not, but some do.” He stared hard at me. “And you’re not exactly subtle are you?”
“Then just let me go,” I begged. “I won’t be a bother to you. I’ll stay away.”
“But I don’t want you to!” He grabbed the front of my shirt now, shook me twice, and then pulled me in close. I braced my hands on his chest for balance—but he seemed to take it as something else as his face came closer.
“No, don’t!” I looked away. Don’t kiss me! “I’m with someone else now.”
He stilled. Dangerously so. “What?”
“You’re the one who i-insisted on an o-open r-relationship.” I didn’t like the way his grip on my shirt tightened, the way his body froze up. “It goes both ways. When you were out sleeping with other p-people, so was I. And I f-found someone I like better th-than y-y-you.” It wasn’t technically the truth, because I hadn’t been out shagging people; it was only Wynn.
He shoved me back and my head hit the brick wall hard. I managed to stay on my feet simply by clinging to the wall.
“You cheated on me?” he snarled.
“It wasn’t cheating,” I forced out through the stabbing pain in my head. “If it was, then you were cheating too every time you went straight.” I had no idea if he’d slept with other guys or not, but I knew for a fact there’d been many girls.
His fists clenched and unclenched, his body rigid. “It’s not the same.”
“It so is!” I shouted, tired and in pain and resigned. “It is the same. Sex is sex no matter what, and if you want to be with someone you don’t go and dip your dick in any other hole that feels good—or that makes you feel straight!” Why he couldn’t just admit to being bisexual was beyond me—it always about him not wanting to be gay, but the fact he could be with girls… didn’t that automatically make him bisexual? If he was actually gay, could he keep having sex with the wrong gender?
I sure couldn’t get it up for females—their parts did nothing for me. If he liked both, then good for him, but he could admit it and stick to it, and figure out if he wanted a relationship or if he wanted to sleep around.
“You can’t have it both ways, Al. Either you want to be with someone, and only them, or you want to shag around. It’s one or the other; you can’t have both.” Not that I would take him back even if he swore and begged, but maybe the next poor person who got involved with him wouldn’t have to suffer the way I had.
“You know nothing!” he yelled and the fist came flying too quickly for me to duck.
I fell, bracing my fall with my hands, but they still scraped against the uneven ground. I spat blood and I wasn’t sure if it was my lip that was split or if I’d bitten myself. All I knew was I tasted blood and it didn’t taste good.
He stood over me, breathing heavily. “You can’t leave me, Kaz,” he said then, and his voice was begging me. “You can’t leave me.”
“I already have.” My knees hurt too. The back door was a way off. Could I crawl over there? Would he grab me again if I tried? “I already have, Al. Please. Just leave me alone.” My tears mixed with the blood and my body was wracked by deep sobs. “Please just leave me alone.”
“Kaz…” He took a step towards me, but stopped when the back door was slammed open.
“Kasey?”
The familiar voice washed over me and now I sobbed from relief. Wynn’s here, he’s not going to let Al hurt you anymo
re. “Wynn!”
He stepped out, took one look at me on the ground, then he lifted his dark gaze to Alistair, who stood frozen.
“Wynn,” I sobbed. Help me, was what I wanted to add to it, but the words wouldn’t come. The sobs overtook me to the point I couldn’t speak and it took all I had just to breathe through them.
But Wynn seemed to understand. He walked towards me… and then flew past—and there was a crunch as his fist connected to Al’s face.
Chapter 13
I pushed up on my knees as Al stumbled back. Wynn packed a good punch, and now he aimed a second one at Alistair’s face. Al fell after that one, crashing to the ground with a pained groan. He didn’t get much reprieve though before Wynn was on him—and he pounded his fist into Al’s face again and again and—
“Wynn!” Chad was there all of a sudden, grabbing hold of Wynn’s shoulders and trying to physically force him away from Alistair.
My first thought was just let him be, let him finish him. Alistair deserved what Wynn gave him; a taste of his own damn medicine.
“Wynn, for fuck’s sake!” Chad wasn’t quite as big as Wynn, but he was pretty fit too, and he managed to force Wynn back. “You want to go back to prison?” he shouted. “Or you want to help your boyfriend?”
That last one did it. Wynn stopped fighting Chad to get to Al… and he slowly turned around to look at me.
I stared back, tears still streaming down my face, blood still trickling from my lips. “Wynn,” I choked out and then he was there, strong arms enveloping me in a gentle embrace.
“What’d he do?” he whispered against my ear. “What’d he do to you, Kasey?”
I clung to him, his shoulder, his neck, anywhere I could get a good grip on, and just cried. Cried at being cornered by Al, for being so afraid, for the pain he’d caused me, and cried in relief because Wynn was finally here and he wouldn’t let anyone hurt me anymore.
“Kasey.” My name came out on a sigh and he held me closer, tighter. “I’ve got you.”
Al was still on the ground, but he was moving and groaning. Chad stood above him, grimacing slightly before glancing at Wynn and me. I must look horrible, so I buried my face in Wynn’s neck.
“Come on, Kasey, we’ve got to go back inside.”
I nodded and let him help me up on my feet. I didn’t want to stay in the alley any more, not as long as Al was still there. Still on the ground, but now on hands and knees, refusing to look at any of us.
Wynn wrapped a strong arm around my shoulders and led me inside and straight into his office.
Chad followed behind us. “Want me to bugger off?” he asked.
After pushing me down on the desk chair, Wynn straightened and ran a hand over his face. “He’s not going back to work, so we’re short-staffed out there. On a bloody Saturday.”
I’d made a mess out of everything again. “I’m sorry.” I bowed my head in shame.
“Hey.” He ran a hand through my hair. “It’s not your fault this happened.”
I got a good look at the hand hanging loosely by his side and the knuckles… they were red and raw.
“I can watch your boytoy if you have to work,” Chad shot in, grinning cheekily. Wynn stared him down, but Chad didn’t seem to notice—or care. “I’d offer to bartend so you could stay with him, but we both know I don’t know shit about mixing drinks. I’d probably just drink all the alcohol.”
Wynn sighed heavily. The hand that had been in my hair now dragged over his face—and the knuckles on that one were sore too. Then he crouched down in front of me, putting both hands on my knees. “Do you want to go home? I can’t leave them understaffed on a Saturday, so I’ve got to stay. For a few more hours at least. Chad can follow you home and look at your lip and I’ll be there soon.”
I softly put my palms on top of his hands, not daring to put any pressure on them with how raw they were after knocking Al around. “I hate that I keep making so much trouble for you,” I whispered. “You had to take over for me on Tuesday too.”
“Like I said, it’s not your fault.” He squeezed my knees. “Go home with Chad. You’ll be safe there. And that arsehole is banned from my club as of now. He’s not getting in here ever again.”
I drew in a shaky breath. That was good to hear, at least. I nodded. “Okay, I’ll go home.”
He leant close, kissing my forehead, then drew me into another hug. “Give me a few hours, till the rush lets up. Cooper can take over from there.”
I ran my hand over my mouth as I stood up, feeling how my lower lip had swollen on one side and some coagulated blood stuck to my skin. I still had a metallic taste in my mouth too, so I probably had bitten myself when Al hit me.
“Look after him,” Wynn said to Chad, voice low and deep and threatening.
“I’ll guard him with my life.” Chad mock-saluted, then snorted. “Chill out, man, it’ll be fine.”
Wynn stopped me again as we exited his office, drawing me in close to kiss my temple. “Don’t feel bad.”
That was easier said than done.
After getting my phone and jacket from my locker, Chad and I exited the club from the main door. I couldn’t stomach going through the back, especially as I didn’t know if Alistair was still there or not.
“Is Wynn going to get in trouble?” I asked then, thinking back to how viciously he’d hit Al and how Al’s face had looked a lot worse than mine.
He blew out an annoyed breath. “I doubt it. If that fucker dares to press charges, he was hitting you first, so Wynn would counter-sue his arse so bad he won’t be able to walk.”
The mental image that brought up startled me into a laugh.
He smiled too. “So how’d Wynn bank a sweetheart like you, huh? He’s not the type to go on the pull and you’re nothing alike Madison.”
Madison… I knew I shouldn’t, but… “You knew him? Madison?” When Chad only nodded, I dared ask some more. “What was he like?”
That made him grimace and for a second I thought I’d crossed a line. “Madison… he was a freak. Mind you, he was nice and all, but… he was so fucking weird. Obsessed with death, for one; not that I think he revealed much of that to Wynn, but he said some weird-arsed shit to me at the end there.” His expression turned thoughtful. “He never minded that Wynn slept with me either, which is extremely weird, right? That you’d let your boyfriend shag someone else.”
He blinked, seemed to realise who he was talking too, and then stepped closer. “Not that Wynn’s the cheating type, mind. He isn’t. At all. He’s so loyal. But Madison was always weird about shit, like living and sex and breathing. And I know he must’ve had some horrible trauma in his life to turn out like he did, but… he wasn’t ever up for much. Like intimacy or sex or any of that. And us normal people need some of that once in a while, right? And then I got with my guys and Madison was dead… and Wynn just kept existing, but he never went out looking for other people. I thought maybe he didn’t need it anyway—maybe he only shagged me because I was manic and hypersexual and probably didn’t give him much choice in the matter… but then I walked in on you two today.” And that wicked grin was back.
I flushed at the reminder of just what he’d seen us do earlier.
“That was hot, by the way.” He bumped my shoulder gently with his. “Wynn might have been facing the door, but he was too caught up in you to even notice me. And that sure doesn’t happen often. Wynn’s got eyes like a hawk—he notices everything.”
That was… both flattering and embarrassing, as it made me blush even more. But it also made me smile. I tried to restrain it, but gave up and instead bowed my head.
“You really like him, huh?” He stretched his arms up, hooking his hands behind his neck, and stared up at the dark sky. “That’s good. Wynn deserves some happiness in his life. He hasn’t had much of it. And he seemed pretty happy with you.”
I sure hoped he seemed happy. Besides the whole drama Al had instigated anyway. “It hasn’t even been a week though,” I murmur
ed. I didn’t know if Chad already knew or not, what Wynn had shared when they’d been cooped up in his office.
“Love at first sight?” He laughed. “Now that’s rare.”
“That doesn’t happen,” I argued meekly. “That’s a cliché that only happens in romance novels and romantic films and love songs.”
“Hey, don’t diss the love at first sight trope.” He just wouldn’t stop grinning. “It does happen to some people. Some people even make it work.”
I raised my eyebrows inquiringly. “Do you know of anyone?”
“Uhh…” He scratched the back of his neck. “Your brother was pretty quick to fall into a relationship, as far as I’ve been told.”
That surprised me as I hadn’t realised he knew Kian was my brother. Had he recognised me all this time? I couldn’t remember ever having met Chad before, though, come to think of it.
His ever-present grin was back. “Don’t worry. Kian showed me a picture of you once when we were at the pub. You were in college. Had pink hair. I guess that’s why I remember the face so well too.”
Heh, my pink hair phase. I kind of missed it. Not that I wanted to go back to it—I was a bit too old for pink hair now.
We were at Wynn’s building now, and… “Wynn forgot to give me his key.” Shit.
“Not to worry.” He brandished his own set of keys. “I’ve got one.”
I blinked. “You’ve got a key to Wynn’s flat?”
“Sure do.” He grinned cheekily as he let us in. “I’m not allowed to use it though unless in an emergency. But this one counts, right?”
Emergency? What kind of emergency would that be? Had he used it before?
I trudged after him into Wynn’s flat, toeing off my shoes in the hall. Chad disappeared into the bathroom and came back with cotton and antiseptic. We sat down and faced each other on the sofa, and I was quiet as I let him wash off the blood and clean my split lip. There wasn’t much to do with the bite on the inside of my cheek, but at least my lip got a thorough clean. It was still swollen, but there wasn’t much to do about that either.
Chad cleaned up after us. He clearly knew how anal Wynn was about cleaning too, because he only waggled his eyebrows teasingly as he left to deposit the used pads in the rubbish.
